Monument to the Latvian riflemen in Riga, Latvia

Latvian riflemen (strelnieki) were military formations assembled starting 1915 in Latvia in order to defend Baltic territories against Germans in World War I. Initially the batallions were formed by volunteers, from 1916 by conscription among Latvian population. A total of about 40 thousand troops were drafted into the Latvian Riflemen Division.

From 1915 to 1917, Latvian Riflemen fought in the Russian army against the Germans in positions along Daugava river. In December 1916 and January 1917, Latvian riflemen suffered heavy casualties in month-long Christmas battles which began with a surprise attack on German positions during Christmas. Suffering heavy casualties, Latvian riflemen managed to break German line of defense but the effort was wasted as the attack was not continued. The Russian Army lost over 26,000 soldiers in the failed attack. The casualties included 9,000 Latvian riflemen, about a third of the total number at that time. The heavy casualties resulted in a strong resentment for the Russian generals and tsar among the riflemen. This resentment led to an increased support for the Bolsheviks, who were advocating an end to the war.

In 1917, a large number of Latvian riflemen sided with the Bolsheviks. They became known as Red Latvian Riflemen (красные латышские стрелки) and actively participated in the Russian civil war. The riflemen took active part in suppression of anti-Bolshevik uprisings in Moscow and Yaroslavl in 1918. They fought against Denikin, Yudenich, and Wrangel. In 1919 the division received the highest military recognition of that time — the Honorable Red Flag of VTsIK . Latvian Red Riflemen officer Jukums Vācietis became the first commander-in-chief of the Red Army. Latvian red riflemen were also a part of the attempt to establish Soviet rule in Latvia in 1919. They were defeated by Baltic German volunteers in Western Latvia and then by the Polish and new Latvian army in Eastern Latvia.

11,395 former Red Riflemen returned to Latvia after the 1920 peace treaty between Latvia and Bolshevist Russia. Other former riflemen stayed in Russia and took positions in the Red Army, Bolshevik party, Cheka. Many of them were arrested or executed during the Great Purges, when ethnically Latvian Communists became one of the groups particularly targeted by the Purges.